Regulators from the US state of Louisiana will pay a group of Vietnamese-American nail salon owners more than $US100,000 to settle a federal lawsuit.

The lawsuit accused state officials and inspectors of discriminating against Vietnamese nail salons with frequent inspections and fines.

The plaintiffs argued that inspectors targeted Asian American salon owners because of their race .

They pointed to evidence showing that Vietnamese-owned businesses paid at least 80 percent of board-imposed fines each year – despite their businesses making up only 9 percent of the 7,500 state regulated salons which include hair salons.

Claims of racial bias were denied by the regulatory board members.

The parties reached a settlement earlier in the year, but it wasn’t until now that the sum of the money was disclosed.

The settlement proceeds went to four salon owners and their attorneys.